Using IPod statistics from shuffle listens to discern – objectively – which Green Day album I like better (21st Century Breakdown or American Idiot). After all, they are both pretty great, and I wasn’t sure offhand, so I decided to just let the numbers do the talking:

Green Day Songs From Last Two Albums – Number Of Listens On Ipod

Song

Album

# Plays

Peacemaker

21st Century Breakdown

15

Know Your Enemy

21st Century Breakdown

13

¡Viva la Gloria!

21st Century Breakdown

13

Give Me Novacaine / She’s a Rebel

American Idiot

12

21st Century Breakdown

21st Century Breakdown

12

American Eulogy: Mass Hysteria / Modern World

21st Century Breakdown

12

Murder City

21st Century Breakdown

9

Are We the Waiting / St. Jimmy

American Idiot

8

Before the Lobotomy

21st Century Breakdown

8

Last of the American Girls

21st Century Breakdown

8

¿Viva la Gloria? (Little Girl)

21st Century Breakdown

7

Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams

American Idiot

6

Homecoming

American Idiot

6

Christian’s Inferno

21st Century Breakdown

6

Restless Heart Syndrome

21st Century Breakdown

6

21 Guns

21st Century Breakdown

6

American Idiot

American Idiot

5

Jesus of Suburbia

American Idiot

5

Song of the Century

21st Century Breakdown

5

East Jesus Nowhere

21st Century Breakdown

5

The Static Age

21st Century Breakdown

5

See the Light

21st Century Breakdown

5

Extraordinary Girl / Letterbomb

American Idiot

4

Whatsername

American Idiot

4

Last Night On Earth

21st Century Breakdown

4

Horseshoes and Handgrenades

21st Century Breakdown

4

Wake Me Up When September Ends

American Idiot

3

Hmm. Generally pretty dispersed, but 6 of my top 7-played songs are from 21st Century Breakdown, which seems to point to the answer. Though in partial defense of Idiot, Breakdown enjoys the clear advantage of having more songs. What about, when all else fails, a pivot table:

Album

Average of # Plays

21st Century Breakdown

7.94

American Idiot

5.89

Grand Total

7.26

So I’ve listened to the average song on Breakdown almost 8 times, vs 6 for Idiot.

Conclusion: 21st Century Breakdown kicks 33% more ass than American Idiot. Nice job Billie Joe & co. Leaving aside the fact that they’re both essentially about how much Green Day hated George W. Bush (a subject I assume a certain sort of rocker will essentially never get tired of), I really do think these are both among the best albums released the past few years (that I’ve heard anyway).

Even if (especially because?) the best songs basically sound like resurrected Cheap-Trick-pretending-to-be-British-punks-playing-Who-songs.